


Sometimes You Still Lose

by Goodreader22



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 02:24:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20631548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goodreader22/pseuds/Goodreader22
Summary: A man finds a 2-year old Tails in a box in an alley. He experiences what will be some of the best years of his life...(Originally posted on Wattpad under the same username on December 20, 2016)





	Sometimes You Still Lose

**Chapter 1:**

Every day is the same crap: work, eat, sleep, work eat, sleep. Nothing exciting ever happens. Sometimes I ask myself what is the purpose of my life. I ask myself why my parents died in the car crash and I didn't, back when I was a kid. The only thing that brightens my day are my favorite comics and TV show **Sonic The Hedgehog**. I always love buying the comics from the store and that TV show is pretty much the only reason I have TV. I like the characters and each one has their own unique personality. They go on these exciting adventures and they always manage to save the day...

***beep! beep!***

Well, looks like work is over. I better head home. I always walk because I live only two blocks away. I'm feeling a little lucky today, so I'll take the shortcut through the dark alley. Who knows? Maybe I might get robbed! Or I might find a penny on the floor. Maybe I'll appear on TV if I get robbed. Whatever happens, I'm sure it'll take away from the boredom of my everyday walk.

**Chapter 2:**

There's a box here. I hear sounds coming from the inside of it. Curiosity killed the cat. But I'm not a cat, so I guess it's fine. I'll take it home and open it when I get there. Here doesn't seem too safe. As I rush back home, my mind keeps thinking about all of the possible things that it could be, athough I don't really know what it is because the sounds are very quiet and subtle.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened that box. It was Tails! (my favorite character) He seemed a lot younger than in the comics, though, as he appears to be just two years old. "Who are you?", asked Tails. Wow, he can talk! "My name is Charlie", I said. "Where's my Mom and Dad and my friends?", asked Tails. "I haven't seen any of them. I found you in a box outside", I explained. All of a sudden, he starts crying. _Think of something, quick_! "B-but I-I'll take care of you!", I said. "Really!? Thanks!", he said. It's almost 8:00 PM, so I let him sleep in my bed and I rush over to the library to think of a plan. _It's like a movie I saw! I'd better keep him a secret, who knows what the government will do if they find out about him. _I look for books about foxes to see what he eats, although I'm not really sure it applies, since Sonic eats chili dogs and real life hedgehogs don't eat that kind of stuff. I should go back home and think of a plan. It wasn't a good idea to come here. Hopefully I'll get a good night's sleep.

**Chapter 3:**

"Good morning!", said Tails. ***Yawn*** "Good morning", I said. Time for breakfast. I think some fruits will do. I'll start the day off with something light. Maybe an oatmeal cookie, too. I left the cookie jar in the top shelf and I can't reach it. "I'll get it!", said Tails as he spots me looking at the jar. He flies up and gets the jar. "Thanks", I said. _He already knows how to fly. I wonder what else he knows?_ After breakfast, I decide it's probably a good idea to homeschool him. Silly me, I got pre-kinder books when he is pretty much in third grade already. I take time to show him a few things; sort of like a tour around my apartment. He likes engineering. I think that much is obvious after he took apart my TV and put it back together with some tools. I was careful he didn't see Sonic on the TV, so I blocked the channel. In order for me to watch Sonic, someone at my workplace records the episodes and gives them to me and I watch them while he's sleeping. He likes to read and learn as well. It seems like he can pass an entire grade in just a few months. I got a job transfer so that I could move to Texas. There's a lot of open space in the country and it's very peaceful. I had enough money saved up to rent a small house. There aren't any neighbors nearby, so we can actually go outside and play some games. At the end of the first week, I bought him a toy airplane. The first week went by very quickly. I think he finally trusts me. This is good. He's like the son I never had. For once in a long time, I finally feel truly happy in my life.

**Chapter 4:**

I think it's time for me to go show him the world, or at least a part of it. Just seeing it in a book isn't the same as seeing it in real life. "Hey, we're going on a road trip", I said. "Wow! Where to?", asked Tails. "It's a surprise", I said. I'm finally putting my money to good use. We'll go somewhere nice and enjoy the long drive. I already told my boss I'm taking a few weeks off. Even though we have to go in after hours when no one is there, I'm sure we'll have a great time and make some wonderful memories, along with a photo diary. I packed a few books, a few large books. Despite the fact that most of the road was just the street and there wasn't much scenery, we played some old games like I Spy and Hangman and we got to have a nice conversation along the way. We've finally arrived at our location: Yellowstone National Park. "Here, put this on", I said. I gave him my hoodie in case someone spots us. We took a walk around the park. Everything was fine until one of the park rangers spotted us. "What are you doing here?", he asked. "My friend came here earlier today and he dropped his camera. It's actually right over there", I said and I pointed behind him. As soon as he looked behind him, we gave him the slip and ran straight for the car. That was the most thrilling part of the trip since everything else went pretty well. At the end of the trip, we were just glad to be home after being gone for so long.

**Chapter 5:**

Life seemed pretty peaceful with me working and Tails at my house. We seemed like a pretty functional family. One night while I was putting him to sleep, I accidentally said "Good night, son", but I was left dumbfounded after I heard "Good night, Dad". The years seemed to fly by. He made some pretty impressive blueprints, so I promised that for his fifth birthday I'd buy him some tools and parts so that he could build his own airplane. I can afford it. After all, I've been getting a lot of promotions in my work. But I can't take full credit for that. Tails helped me out and gave me a few tips and eventually I became CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of the company. I was pretty impressed when he finished builiding it. It only took Tails 12 months to build his airplane. We'll go to a highway that almost no one uses and we can take off from there. I rented a truck so that I could tow it. Tails told me it was a light aircraft and it weighed no more than 2,500 pounds, so I'm pretty sure we can tow it. I just don't want to imagine the look on the neighbor's face when he sees me towing an airplane across the street. But people have towed RVs, right? I'm sure it's not that different. We had a fun time flying across a few states. I kind of got sick to my stomach when he did a barrel roll, though. I drove slowly on the way back home because I still felt dizzy. On the bright side, I got some great photos up there!

**Chapter 6:**

A thought just popped into my mind. _The characters never really aged much throughout the years on the comics and TV shows. Does that mean I'll never see him grow any more after his eighth birthday? But this is real life! Everyone ages... right?_  
That seemed to be the least of my worries. It all happened in one day, a few months after his eighth birthday. I fell asleep in the couch and I couldn't believe what I was seeing when I woke up. "Hey, we're looking for Tails. We thought we might find him here. Have you seen him?", said Sonic. My heart was beating so fast it seemed like it would cone out of my chest. "Good morning Da-... wait is that Sonic?", said Tails as he entered the living room. "Tails th-there's something I never explained to you", I said. I told him about the comics and the TV shows. All the adventures he had and even how he met Sonic. "I wanted to tell you earlier, but I didn't want you to think all of your friends were gone and they were never coming back", I said. "My head hurts", Tails whispered, "...now I remember two versions of my life. One is with Sonic and friends and the other one is with you. Which one is real?". "They're both real", explained Dr.Eggman, who was eavesdropping, "Sonic told me what happened. You made a time machine and you tested it. What you didn't know was that there was something wrong with it and not only did it send you back in time, but it also sent you to this world with your current age at that time". "You've only been gone a few days. Eggman fixed the time machine and brought us here", said Sonic. "It hasn't been a few days" I said, "It's been six years". Everyone except Tails and I were shocked. The time machine probably changed its date after it was used or while Eggman was fixing it. This was the hardest day of my life. They told us Tails had to come back or the time paradox would be altered and a lot of things would change. Tails and I broke down in tears. I almost had a mental breakdown. "P-promise me... you will always remember me", I said, almost drowned in tears. "I will, Dad!", said Tails. We gave each other one last hug. It felt like he hugged my soul. We said our goodbyes and then they left with Tails.

I'm grateful I got to spend that much time with Tails and not just "a few days". I will always cherish the time we spent together and all of the memories we made. Every time he said "Dad, can you read me a bedtime story?" at night. I take a good, long look at the photo diary and do nothing for the rest of the day except for thinking about my life.

**Epilogue:**

So I thought about it, and I decided to quit my job and become a pilot. It's a great job, and five years later, I met someone. We got married after two years and we settled down and had kids. Two years after that, I went to the spot where I found Tails fifteen years ago. _I hope you're doing well, buddy_, I thought. Then I saw the box in the alleyway. _Another box? It can't be just a coincidence..._ I open the box and I find a letter. It reads...

Dear Dad (Charlie),  
I hope you're doing well. I'm writing to tell you that I'm okay and I hope you found someone else to make you happy. I'm happy with my friends. We're all having a great time, constantly defeating Eggman and everything he builds. I hope your adventures are just as fun and exciting. If you ever find this letter, I wanted to let you know that I never stopped loving you and I will always remember you.  
Sincerely,  
Tails


End file.
